Episode 93 (1st November 1961)
Plot Ivan's naturalisation papers come through and Linda asks Elsie what she thinks of her surname as she's thinking of changing it. Elsie can't rouse Dennis, not knowing he and Jed are stranded in Glossop. Jed rings a friend for a lift back but he puts the phone down on him. Elsie frets when she realises that Dennis's bed hasn't been slept in. Mr. Wentworth asks Ken to deal with Jim Schofield who has an absentee problem and to suspend him if he has no good excuses. Dennis arrives home to a furious rant from his mother which is cut off when Bill walks in. Jim tells Ken he suffers from chronic migraines. Ken confronts him with accusations he turns up late for his shifts but is told that he and the other lads have an agreement between themselves for making up lost time. Dennis and Linda grow weary as Elsie shows all the signs of being in love. Ena tells Fred Jackson that Minnie will not see Christmas following her accident. A furious Mr. Wentworth demands that Schofield be recalled to the office. Jed boasts to Doreen until he realises that he's dropped himself in it by not taking Jean. Ena pushes Christine to get a reply from her landlord about Minnie's compensation. Ena and Martha insist that Minnie is losing her mind and bully her when she won't agree with them. Mr. Wentworth points out to Schofield that his migraines are always on a Monday, and probably linked to Sunday night drinking, threatening to call his doctor. He suspends him. Ken hates what he's done. Elsie and Bill have enjoyed a day out in the country beyond Chester prior to going to the cinema. Annie asks Florrie to get in cheese straws and stuffed olives for bar snacks and is annoyed when a listening Elsie laughs at her. As Elsie walks out of the shop, Annie slags off her relationship with Bill. Elsie overhears and is hurt. Cast Regular cast *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Linda Cheveski - Anne Cunningham *Jed Stone - Kenneth Cope *Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie *Kenneth Barlow - William Roache *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson *Doreen Lostock - Angela Crow *Christine Hardman - Christine Hargreaves *Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge *Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant *Martha Longhurst - Lynne Carol *Annie Walker - Doris Speed Guest cast *Mr. Wentworth - Barry Letts *Miss Franklin - Eve Pearce *Bill Gregory - Jack Watson *Mr. Schofield - Barry Lowe *Fred Jackson - Joe Gladwin (Credited as "Joe Gladwyn") Places *11 Coronation Street - Back room and kitchen *Corner Shop *Jackson's Chip Shop *Amalgamated Steel - Personnel office *Phone box outside the Duke of Wellington, Glossop Notes *On the day that this episode was broadcast, Equity, the actor's union, came out on strike against the ITV television companies. As the terms of the strike were that actors would not honour contracts signed after 28th June 1961 or sign new contracts, Coronation Street lost a large part of its cast. Characters who were deemed at the time to be "Guest Cast" were on short-term contracts (in some cases, weekly) and, as the programme was recorded on the immediate Friday prior to transmission at this time, they were immediately lost to the storylines. For this reason, this episode features the last appearance of Bill Gregory and Jed Stone for several months and the next few episodes were hurriedly re-written to explain their absence. (Bill Gregory was next seen on 2nd July 1962 and Jed Stone briefly on 25th April 1962 and full-time on 5th November 1962). From this point onwards various characters disappeared, some never to be seen again (Jean Stark, Norman Dobson and Phil Braithwaite), others came back to the programme after the strike was over (in the main Miss Nugent, Mr. Swindley, Esther Hayes, Christine Hardman, Doreen Lostock, Sheila Birtles, Lucille Hewitt, Valerie Tatlock) and others, where the actors had previously been signed to long-term, year-long contracts (a rarity in television) remained. The characters who continued to be seen in the programme were Annie Walker, Jack Walker, Albert Tatlock, Frank Barlow, Ken Barlow, Harry Hewitt, Concepta Hewitt, Elsie Tanner, Florrie Lindley, Ena Sharples, Minnie Caldwell, Martha Longhurst and Len Fairclough. Philip Lowrie's long-term contract to play Dennis Tanner expired before the strike ended on 3rd April 1962 and thus his character too disappeared from the programme. For the most part, the programme survived for five months with just fourteen characters, no guest cast and no extras (aside from child actors, and thus non-Equity members, in various appearances and in credited parts in Episodes 102, 103 and 104) however it was the only ITV videotaped drama to continue through the actor's strike. *In the final scene in the Corner Shop, Betty Alberge and Margot Bryant are not cued on time and spend the first few seconds poised to begin acting and looking round at the floor manager for their signal. *''TV Times'' synopsis: Ena prepares to do battle on behalf of Minnie Caldwell; Linda talks with her mother on a very important subject; and Kenneth continues to have a difficult time in his new job. *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 7,473,000 homes (1st place). Episode 093